The only thing I love more than the Thanksgiving feast is coming up with creative ways to use the leftovers. I find joy in being able to take something from yesterdays meal and make a delicious, completely new meal out of it. It’s a frugal way to stretch our dollars while still making each meal as emotionally satisfying as it is physically satisfying.
My Thanksgiving stuffing is fabulous (even if I do say so myself). I saute onions, apples, celery, sometimes I add chopped water chestnuts and occasionally raisins depending on the crowd I’m feeding. Depending on my culinary adventuresome spirit and time depends on if I use the ole Stovetop Stuffing or attempt to make it from scratch.
This year I broke all tradition and bought a gluten free stuffing mix from Aldi’s. I added the traditional additions above and I have to say it was pretty good. As is with most years we had plenty of leftovers. Now the fun begins.
We strive to have mornings surrounding the holidays slow and relaxing. There is enough excitement in the air and it allows us to slow down and breath. This year was no different. As I was frying and flipping pancakes I began dreaming about what I could do with the extra stuffing in the refrigerator. Then I thought about the sweetness of the apples and raisins, the crunch of the onions and celery potentially mixed with the pancake batter.
The more I thought about it, the more the sweet and salty combination appealed to me. This particular morning I used Bisquick, but I’m certain you could use whatever pancake recipe you fancy the most. I took the dressing out of the fridge and added it to the last bit of pancake batter, added an extra egg and folded it all together. I used enough batter just to make sure it was all covered and would adhere will together in the pan. My goal was for it to adhere together enough to not fall apart, but to remain apart enough to enjoy the stuffing as much as the pancake.
It worked! When I went to flip it, it was perfect, exactly as I imagined it to be. I placed it on a plate, spread butter over the stuffing pancake and drizzled maple syrup over it. The flavors, crunch and sweetness was exactly as I imagined it to be.
What is your favorite holiday leftover recipe? Do you enjoy soup, have you created your own recipe? I would love to hear your favorites!
